oceanaussi

I use the one in Woodford in Winter and when Quen was a pup - but now in summer - the river it is! ;)

This is a great idea! When I got my pup, he was on Supercoat. Went fine until I changed it to Eagle Pack where he had huge runny poos and lots of them. Tried EP Holistic - no change. Actually it got that bad that I had to take him to the Vet and put him on a special prescribed diet. Tried BARF and he liked it but huge runny poos again. Afterwards I started Orijen and he did so well on that! Tried Artemis and didn't really like it. Tried Advance and it's ok, but poos are bigger and softer. In the moment he's on All Vets Natural and I'm surprised how well he does on that! My old girl tried a variety of food and did ok on most of them. She loved Orijen from the first to the last piece of kibble in the bag and that never happened before! her coat was shiny and no shedding for the first time in her life! She refuses to eat Artemis after half a bag. She's on All Vets Natural as well and is doing good but she's shedding again.

Is that similar to the Vets all natural?

I used to feed my old girl RC and that was pretty good. But I remember there was some bad press about them too just can't remember what it was.

There's another thread going about Ziwipeak. It's incredibly expensive. Nearly $100 for 5 kg!!! I absolutly love Orijen and so do my dogs. They eat it even if it's the second half of the bag, they have small poss, not runny, no farting, my old girl stopped shedding, they both have a shiny coat and have developed better than ever before. I'm trying to buy every bag of Orijen there is until they stop selling it. I don't know if there's much alternative. I'm inclined to try EVO but my ethics they no. I've tried Artemis and despite the fact that my dogs didn't like it, it had runny poos, farting ect. They also don't do well on BARF, so there's not much left, especially since Quen can't have chicken.

Yes, I'm still feeding Orijen and I'm trying to buy every single bag there is before they stop distributing it. As poocow said dogs have a completly different make-up and it doesn't affect them as it did affect cats. It's the best food I ever had: the dogs love it, small poos, no farting, no runny poos and a shiny coat and my old girl even stopped shedding!

If I would spend half the time of what I spent on research on the dog's diet researching what I'm eating, I would be thin, fit and healthy! I never had any problems with Hera but Quen can't have chicken, gets runny poos on nearly everything other than Orijen. They don't eat Artemis,...

None of the three I've been to in Sydney do. Sell pups or stock the different varieties? Here in Bissie they sell pups.

Doesn't Petbarn sell puppies and kittens? Is there anywhere online where you can order all the different varieties?

I've ordered it from a DOLer (I think it was 4paws) and it came via post but the postage wasn't too bad at all. Quen used to be on EP and EP Hol and I had the same problem - loose stool and heaps of smelly farts. I've tried Orijen and was very satisfied - especially as my old girl (GSDxKelpie) stopped shedding for the first time!!! They now on Artemis and I'm just as happy with that. I've treid both Artemis as well - grain-free and the normal one - both are great but the old girl started shedding again, so I think I might stay on Orijen. But it could also be that she's loosing her winter coat so I wait and see. She only gets 1 cup a day, so it lasts her very very long.

I'm in a bit of a dilemma. I'd like to enter my dog in a show which is a bit out of town as I was planning to extend my weekend there. At the same time the CCCQ holds a Canine Health Clinic. Are these Health Clinics held regulary? Are they better & cheaper than going to a specialist? My pup is only 7 months old - I'm not planning to use him as a stud before he's 2 years old anyway, so there'd be plenty of time. Any opinions?

That's true too! They're around 4 years old (rescues not 100% sure), she had them for about 3 years and they're a male and a femal both desexed. She's pretty sure that she doesn't have a leadership issue as they're fine as soon as she tells them of. She's here in Brisbane and I think she will put some work into her dogs as she loves them dearly and I don't think she wants to loose them as well.

Ok, seems like most agree with me of getting a behaviourist. Now I just gotta find one. I think pts the dogs just after a seperation might be even worse for her. I was thinking too that they might have not have a 'chance' to kill before and now where she's in suburbia it shows. And no, I'm not telling her to toughen up also this is what I'm thinking. But then again this is me and like I said before I have no idea what she's like privately. She was thinking of putting them in the kennel until she has settled down but I don't think this would be a good idea.

Thanks guys! I must say, she's really just a workmate and I don't know her very well, so I don't know the dogs or how she's privately. I do understand the cat thing. Don't think a cat would survive coming into my yard either. But obviously it must have been too much for this poor old lady so she died (the cat's owner I mean). Regarding the little dog: her dogs digged underneath the fence and killed it. It was found dead by the neighbours child in their yard (the little dog's yard that is). Appearently the couple living there have 9 kids, a lot of them are forstered as they're terminal ill. They didn't mind to much that their dog was killed as they used it as an example to teach the children how to deal with loss...Well, no comments on that one. My workmate is scared that it will happen again and people might not be that understanding. I strongly believe that her dogs sense her stress and maybe even react in a protective way. I did recommend a behaviourist but i think it needs to be one with dual qualifications - for people and dogs. But that's my opinion and I wanted to know what some more experienced people think.

Hi there, I've just spoken to my workmate. She's got 2 rescues - a GSP and a Bull Arab who she rescued from an environment where they were beaten. She had them for a while now and never experienced any issues. A couple of months ago she and her husband broke up. She moved into a new place and since then her dogs have gone feral. First the killed the cat from an old lady next door (cat was in my workmate's yard). The old lady's daughter just moved out a week before and the old lady loved her cat, she had a stroke 2 days later and died. Then they killed the little dog from next door. Appearently the digged a whole underneath the fence and killed it. There're 2 larger dogs on the property (the one with the little dog) as well. My workmate asked me if this sort of behaviour is normal. Well, I told her, I don't think so. I assume the dogs have issues and recommended a behaviourist. She also mentioned that they much more aggressive on lead. Obviously my workmate is stressed going thru the divorce and I assume that her dogs sense this and want to protect her. But how can I tell her to be a bit stronger for her dogs sake? Any advice? Thanks!

Gee, I find it really concerning that the Obedience Club did let you go like that... :D But I know exactly how you feel as this happened to me a few times at showtraining. However, never at Obedience Training. Why did you take the Halti off? You definetly should get into Tracking with her! Quentin was exactly the same. Everything was exiting but me. This is what I've done: Took yammy food and a squeeky mice with real fur (like used for showtraining) as sometimes food and sometimes the toy works. Took Hera and Quentin to the Showgrounds, put him on a Halti with a short lead, placed Hera in a drop-stay in the middle of an imaginary circle, then I got Quentin really interested in the toy and food. Then I started on the far outer side of the circle in fast pace, lead short so if he puts his head down, he can't. I used "watch" and "head" as commands. And we walked in the circle. Everytime Quentin was too fast (most of the time) or too slow (sometimes, as he was trying to sniff something), I turned around; still on the same circle until he behaved and we went into the next one. I started fast and got slower the closer I came to the middle which was hard, as Hera was there and that's were he wanted to go. Hera was his ultimate reward but he had to stay focused on me otherwise he couldn't get there. I made sure he looked at me with food and his toys. When I had the feeling he didn't pay attention, I run into him. The first time we did this took 3 hours. The second time only 30 min and now he heels nicely off-lead. Quen is 6 months old. Good luck! You'll get there but you gotta be really persistent.

The next retrieving training day is coming up soon! TRAINING DAY - in the field - SUNDAY 24TH AUGUST AT BALD HILLS FLATS. ALL WELCOME - Please phone Fran Jones for more info - 33513667. 9am to 11.30am. Bring your dog, lead, choker/collar, chair, water and morning tea. No Charge ! Hope you can come!

Fo everybody with a Gundog - purebred or xbreed, the United Field and Retrieving Association is proud to announce their new RETRIEVING & OBEDIENCE FOR RETRIEVING TRAINING NIGHTS !!!!!! :p These will be held on the 3rd FRIDAY OF EACH MONTH commencing Friday August 15th at 7pm. No Charge. Just bring your dog, lead, choker/collar and we're sure you will enjoy the night. These will be held at the Samsonvale Hall Winn Rd Mt Samson. (Winn Rd is a continuation of Samsonvale Road) Sausage Sizzle available $2.50 for sausage/bread and drink! Please phone Fran Jones for more info on 33513667. Come and enjoy a night with your dogs and some great people! :D

:D That's so funny!!! Both of mine are still loving it but i will try the Artemis as well and then I tried all high quality dry foods and really can compare! With the Orijen I love that you only have to feed small amounts to!

I personally don't like the Weatherbeetas as they're open on a dog's tummy. I bought a coat for my old girl from here: http://www.zentekclothing.com/ A bit pricey but the best coats ever! They keep warm in winter and cool in summer as they're thermoregulating! They also offer free alterations if needed. Super friendly service and theat coat keeps the dog really dry! Hera loves it so much, she doesn't want to take it of anymore!

Thanks for clearing this up, Rappie. Like I said I'm not a Vet and it's difficult to describe what the Vet showed me on sdome model hips. Plus, it's hard to compare 2 procedure in different languages! :D Yes, the Vet sad that it might not last forever - depending on the dog. We've done the operation 4 years ago and it's still ok. At least now I know what the operation is called in English!

Well, that might be the difference. I'm not sure. I wish you guys good luck! We had no problem doing it all at once but the operation has been done in Europe for a long time now while the Vet here tole me it's relatively new.

Ok, I'm trying to explain in very simple words as I'm not a Vet and I did the operation when I was in Germany so most of the info is in German. I've spoken to my local Vet here in Australia and it's been done here as well. This is a pretty good document: www.melbvet.com.au/pdf/chd.pdf The denervation seperates the tendences over the inflamed joint capsule so the dog doesn't feel any pain. The PIN operation (Pectineusmyektomy) is a cut in the pelvis and the removal of a muscle from the bone. The legs of the dog look more like a 'V' turned around, so the joint capsule doesn't rub against the joint anymore. Sorry about the bad description. From what I googled the PIN is very similar to the TPO but I'm not sure if it's the same. I did both operations (PIN & denervation) on both sides on the same day and paid around $800. Hera was 5 years old when she had the operations. She now has a little bit of a problem on her elbows which I treat with Pernease Powder and weekly swimming. She does Flyball and agility without any problems. So for us the surgery was very successfull. Hera was so bad before, she only walked on 3 legs.

Hi there, that's what Hera had done (posted the pics earlier) both sides in one operation. But as the denervation more or less only takes the pain away, we had the PIN Operation at the same time and it really helped! Good luck!

My Kelpie x GSD had severe HD aged 5 years old. I moved back to Germany for a while and thought she might just not be used to the cold. Then it got so bad that she was only walking on 3 legs. I took her to the Vet and we did some X-Rays. Apparently she had severe HD on both sides. :D He said she wouldn't recover just on medication. He suggested 3 methods: 1. the gold-plated stuff (can't remember the exact name but think it was mentioned here before), 2. hip replacement (which is costly and he said sometimes the dog's body doesn't accept the new hip) and 3. PIN surgery/denervation. I decided on the last one but was very scared. Hera was able to walk again on the next day but wasn't allowed to excercise - only short walks several times a day. She recovered so well - even does flyball agan! We go swimming once a week and I give her massages. It was the right thing to do for her! Good luck with your decision! i know it's a tough one.